Russia and Qatar concerns in World Cup bid reports

The executive summaries of the evaluation reports by FIFA's inspectors have
been published on Wednesday but they do not tell the whole story.

The 24 FIFA executive committee members who are voting on the 2018 and 2022
hosts have been provided with a confidential report judging 17 separate
categories on risk - including overall operational risk.

It can be revealed England, Spain/Portugal and Holland/Belgium
have a 'low' overall operational risk while Russia is judged as 'medium'.

In further good news for England's bid, and the Iberian campaign, Russia's air
transport plan is judged high risk - the only high risk mark for any of the 2018
bidders - while Holland/Belgium has nine of the 17 categories judged as
medium.

Among the 2022 bidding countries, Qatar is given a high overall operational
risk rating.

In the published summary of their report, FIFA's inspectors do not provide any
overall risk rating but they have raised issues with all of the four bids for
2018. The concerns about England surround training camps, the number of
contracted hotel rooms and training camp hotels. Spain/Portugal is told it needs a proper safety and security strategy.

The concerns about Russia's bid, also a "low legal risk'', are regarding its
transport plan, particularly in relation to air traffic, and is a much more
costly and difficult issue to resolve in such a vast country. Holland/Belgium is judged a "medium legal risk'' as the necessary government
guarantees have not been provided.

On England, the report states: "The bidder has not contracted the required
number of venue-specific training sites or venue-specific team hotels. The fact that not many of the rooms have been contracted in full compliance with FIFA's template hotel agreement requires further analysis and potentially renegotiation. FIFA could be exposed to excessive pricing.''

On Russia, the report says: "The country's vastness and its remoteness from
other countries, coupled with the fact that the high speed rail network is
limited ... would put pressure on the air traffic infrastructure potentially
causing transfer challenges.

"Any delay in the completion of transport projects could impact on FIFA's
tournament operations and the proposed installation of temporary facilities
could impose a high cost burden.''

Spain/Portugal looks to have the fewest criticisms, but the security issue is a
serious one. The report states: "A clear operational concept has not been
specified for safety and security.'' Like Holland/Belgium, the inspectors state co-hosting represents a challenge.

In relation to the 2022 bids, the inspectors have warned that Qatar's searing
summer heat could be a "potential health risk for players, officials, the FIFA
family and spectators''.

USA is a medium legal risk due to a lack of government guarantees, while
inspectors say a World Cup in Australia, Japan or Korea would risk a reduction
in European and American TV income.

The dual World Cup hosting vote will take place in Zurich on December 2.